Dubbing assembly in fly hook production

ABSTRACT

A machine for dubbing assembly in fly hook production includes a base having a vertical dowel mounted to one end of the base, and a housing mounted to the other end. A work platform is pivotally mounted to one side of the base so that the platform may be elevated or lowered. A drive motor is mounted within the housing. The motor drives a drive shaft. The drive shaft terminates in a hook or eye. A second eye is mounted to the vertical dowel. The second eye projects toward, in opposed facing relation with, the drive shaft. The second eye supports a tensioning spring which has a barrel swivel attached to its opposite end. One or more filaments may be attached to a ring on the barrel swivel so as to extend across the work platform and be secured to the hook or eye on the drive shaft. Dubbing material is applied to a single filament or sandwiched between double strand filaments. Double strand filaments are twisted into a helix to flare the dubbing material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/326,760, filed Jun. 4, 1999, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/087,969, filed Jun. 4, 1998, entitledMachine for Dubbing Assembly in Fly Hook Production.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to the field of mechanisms for theassembly of the various components comprising the body which is attachedto the shank of a hook during the production of artificial fly fishinghooks and lures, and in particular relates to a novel method for thepre-assembly of all body components or dubbing prior to attachment tothe hook shank.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is known that in the field of sport fishing and specificallyfly fishing that the angler goes to great length to match his lure tothe specific aquatic or airborne insect currently being found attractiveby the fish as a source of food. When such an insect is identified, theangler then selects for use a pre-made fly hook which closely resemblesthe natural insect.

[0004] It will be appreciated that the art of fly-tying is a skill whichis beyond the expertise of many avid anglers and is generally so timeconsuming that custom fly-tying during a fishing trip is consideredimpracticable by most. In addition due to these constraints should anespecially effective fly hook be damaged or lost while in use, theangler must either replace it or utilize a less effective substitute.Both options are unsatisfactory due to the associated cost in the caseof the former, and dissatisfaction in the case of the latter.

[0005] It is known to use so-called dubbing to match the normalseasonally expected insects. Dubbing can be pre-made in quantity andquickly attached to the shank of a hook of the size required for thespecific species and size of fish, without prolonged interruption, whilethe angler is fishing. It is one object to provide an apparatus whichmay be carried by an angler while fishing for the convenient manufactureof new dubbing matching current fishing conditions.

[0006] The dubbing process has been in use for over a century in Europeand is considered “state of the art” in the fly tying industry. One ormore material are mixed or blended and often a bright sparkle syntheticis added to give the blend a flashy, light reflecting quality. Thismixture is known as “dubbing material.” Fly tying thread is attached toa fly hook that is held in a fly tiers vice. The thread is often treatedwith “dubbing wax” or a bonding agent and a twisting motion wraps thedubbing material onto the thread. Tie “fuzzy” thread is then wrappedaround the fly hook. This procedure is the standard method of “dubbing”/The end resulting fly has a very “buggy” unique look compared to theusual appearance of a yam wrapped fly. It is arguable that the world'sbest looking, fish catching flies are dubbed flies. This is due to their“life like” and natural appearance.

[0007] The dubbing material used is affixed to the tier's thread bymeans of a sticky dubbing wax or bonding agent and is loosely held inposition. Although the artistic appearance is excellent, the overallstrength of the fly is very limited. The dubbed fly will readily fallapart during the fish catching process, limiting the life of the fly.Often the dubbed fly must have a “ribbing” wrapped around the body inorder to “hold” the dubbing material in place. This is sometimesundesirable and strength is limited due to the overall strength of the“ribbing” it's self. As well the fly is only as strong as the thread andglue that binds it together. Many traditionally constructed dubbed flyhave an extremely short useful life span. Many exact copies of the samepattern must be on hand when fishing. Traditional dubbing is a timeconsuming process. The necessity to duplicate numerous exact patternscreates the reality of the “disposable fly.” Due to this “disposability”inexpensive fly hooks are often used to compensate for the overall costof reproducing multiple copies. Inexpensive fly hooks are inferior intheir overall strength and are often not nearly as sharp right out ofthe box. Inexpensive hooks often dull faster than premium hooks and aresubject to breakage or deformation on large fish. “Inferior” fly-fishinghooks are a huge disadvantage to the fly fisherman. A fly fishermanheading out on a fishing trip often takes 6-12 flies of the exact samepattern in order to have ample supply. Dubbing materials may be asfollows: Seal Angora Sheep's Wool Squirrel Rabbit Marino Goat Polar BearFox Black Bear Possum Raccoon Seal fur substitute Crystal Flash ™Antron ™ Scintilla ™ Lite Bright ™ Flashabou ™

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A machine for dubbing assembly in fly hook production includes abase having a vertical dowel mounted to one end of the base, and ahousing mounted to the other end. A work platform is pivotally mountedto one side of the base so that the platform may be elevated or lowered.A drive motor is mounted within the housing. The motor drives a driveshaft. The drive shaft terminates in a hook or eye. A second eye ismounted to the vertical dowel. The second eye projects toward, inopposed facing relation with, the drive shaft. The second eye supports atensioning spring which has a barrel swivel attached to its oppositeend. One or more filaments may be attached to a ring on the barrelswivel so as to extend across the work platform and be secured to thehook or eye on the drive shaft. Dubbing material is applied to a singlefilament or sandwiched between double strand filaments. Double strandfilaments are twisted into a helix to flare the dubbing material.

[0009] The housing contains a power source, such as a battery, for thedrive motor and a means whereby the rate of rotation of the drive motormay be selectively controlled by a user, such as by a rheostat or linearpotentiometer. A switch may be provided to isolate the power source fromthe drive motor.

[0010] Thus in summary, according to the invention as claimed herein,the apparatus of the present invention for making a single strand dubbedfilament includes: a base having first and second opposite ends, a motormounted on the first end of the base, a driveshaft coupled to the motor,the motor for rotating the driveshaft at a selectable constant rotationspeed about an axis of rotation, a rigid support mounted at the secondend of the base, a resilient biasing means mounted to the rigid support,a swivel coupling mounted to the resilient biasing means in oppositerelation to the rigid support and in opposed facing relation to thedriveshaft, the driveshaft and the swivel coupling lying on the axis ofrotation, wherein, when a flexible filament is secured at a first end ofthe filament to the driveshaft and secured at an opposite second end ofthe filament to the swivel coupling so as to lie along the axis ofrotation, actuation of the motor rotates the driveshaft and the filamentabout the axis of rotation, whereby adhering dubbing material byadhesive to the filament driving the rotation of the filament forms asingle strand dubbed filament.

[0011] The resilient biasing means may be a tensioning spring.

[0012] The swivel coupling may be a frictional swivel couplingrestricting rotation of the second end of the filament to a rotationrate that is less than a simultaneous rotation rate of the driveshaftand the first end of the filament,

[0013] The frictional swivel coupling may be a barrel swivel.

[0014] Advantageously, a work platform is provided which is selectivelypositionable into parallel relation to the axis of rotation. The workplatform is pivotally mounted to the base so as to be pivotable betweenall elevated generally horizontal position, wherein an upper planarsurface of the platform is adjacent the axis of rotation, and a loweredposition lowered towards the base array from the axis of rotationwherein the upper planar surface remains parallel to the axis ofrotation.

[0015] The selectable constant rotation speed of the motor may beselectively controlled by a linear potentiometer.

[0016] The apparatus of the present invention for making a double stranddubbed filament includes: a base having first and second opposite ends,a motor mounted on the first end of the base, a driveshaft coupled tothe motor, the motor for rotating the drivershaft at a selectableconstant rotation speed about an axis of rotation, a rigid supportmounted at the second end of the base, a resilient biasing means mountedto the rigid support, a coupling mounted to the resilient biasing meansin opposite relation to the rigid support and in opposed facing relationto the driveshaft, the driveshaft and the coupling lying on the axis ofrotation, wherein, when a flexible filament is secured at a first end ofthe filament to the driveshaft and secured at an opposite second end ofthe filament to the coupling so as to lie along the axis of rotation,actuation of the motor rotates the driveshaft and the filament about theaxis of rotation, and wherein the filament comprises a pair of filamentstrands which, when tensioned, are snugly adjacent and parallel, thepair of filament strands of a flexible permanently deformable materialwherein the rotation of the filament permanently twists the pair offilament strands around one another about the axis of rotation so as topermanently twist an array of dubbing material fibres spread along so asto be generally perpendicular to, and sandwiched between, the pair offilament strands into a hairy three dimensional body of revolution aboutthe axis of rotation, whereby a dubbing brush is produced.

[0017] As before, the resilient biasing means may be a tensioningspring.

[0018] In one embodiment the coupling is a frictional swivel couplingrestricting rotation of the second end of the filament to a rotationrate that is less than a simultaneous rotation rate of the driveshaftand the first end of the filament. The frictional swivel coupling may bea barrel swivel.

[0019] A work platform is provided in one embodiment which isselectively positionable into parallel relation to the axis of rotation.The work platform is pivotally mounted to the base so as to be pivotablebetween an elevated generally horizontal position, wherein an upperplanar surface of the platform is adjacent the axis of rotation, and alowered position lowered towards the base array from the axis ofrotation wherein the upper planar surface remains parallel to the axisof rotation.

[0020] The selectable constant rotation speed of the motor may beselectively controlled by a linear potentiometer.

[0021] The method of the present invention of making a single stranddubbed filament includes the steps of:

[0022] (a) securing the ends of a single strand filament to thedriveshaft and the swivel coupling so that the filament lies along theaxis of rotation,

[0023] (b) applying adhesive along the filament,

[0024] (c) actuating the motor so as to rotate the filament about theaxis of rotation,

[0025] (d) adhering dubbing material to the filament as the filament isrotating about the axis of rotation,

[0026] The method may include the further step of restricting a rate ofrotation of the swivel coupling about the axis of rotation relative to arate of rotation of the driveshaft so as to restrict rotation of the endof the filament secured to the swivel coupling relative to rotation ofthe end of the filament secured to the driveshaft upon die actuation ofthe motor.

[0027] The method may also include the further step of positioning awork platform into parallel relation to the axis of rotation.

[0028] The method may also include the further step of selectivelycontrolling the selectable constant rotation speed by means of a linearpotentiometer.

[0029] The method of the present invention of making a double stranddubbing brush includes the steps of:

[0030] (a) securing the ends of a double strand filament to thedriveshaft and to the coupling so as to tension the filamenttherebetween and so as to maintain strands of the double strand filamentsnugly adjacent and parallel, wherein the strands are of a permanentlydeformable material when twisted,

[0031] (b) spreading an array of dubbing material fibres generallyevenly along, so as to be generally perpendicular to, and sandwichedbetween the strands,

[0032] (c) actuating the motor so as to twist the filament about theaxis of rotation thereby permanently twisting the strands around oneanother, whereby the dubbing material fibres are anchored between thestrands and rotated about the axis of rotation to form a hairy threedimensional body of revolution about the axis of rotation.

[0033] The method may include the further step of restricting a rate ofrotation of the coupling about the axis of rotation relative to a rateof rotation of the driveshaft by means of a frictional swivel couplingso as to restrict rotation of the end of the filament secured to thefrictional swivel coupling relative to rotation of the end of thefilament secured to the driveshaft upon the actuation of the motor.

[0034] The method may also include the further step of positioning awork platform into parallel relation to the axis of rotation.

[0035] The method may also include the further step of selectivelycontrolling the selectable constant rotation speed by means of a linearpotentiometer.

[0036] Thc method may also include the further step of elevating thework platform, wherein the work platform is pivotally mounted to thebase, into a generally horizontal position adjacent the axis of rotationprior to the step of spreading the dubbing material fibres along thestrands.

[0037] The present invention includes a dubbing brush made according tothe above method. In particular the present invention includes withinits scope a double strand dubbing brush having:

[0038] (a) a helix core of two permanently twisted flexible elongatemembers

[0039] (b) a substantially uniform array of generally parallel fibresspread along, so as to be sandwiched between, the two permanentlytwisted flexible elongate members, the array generally bisected by thehelix,

[0040] (c) the array flared so as to forma a radially extending arrayabout the helix uniformly dense and uniformly distributed along thehelix core.

[0041] The dubbing brush may include flexible elongate members made ofwire. Further, in the dubbing brush a majority of the fibres in thearray may be of uniform thickness and length, and the fibres may havebeen stacked and brushed or raked out during twisting formation of thehelix core.

[0042] Also included within the scope of the present invention is a flyhook which includes:

[0043] (a) a dubbing hook brush made according to the method of thepresent invention,

[0044] (b) winding the dubbing brush around a shank of the fly hook toform a body,

[0045] (c) trimming the body over a just portion of the body, and

[0046] (d) brushing out the body over a remaining portion of the body.

[0047] Further, the fly hook may include a tail mounted to the shank,wherein the tail is a tail mounted to the shank, wherein the tail is asecond dubbing brush made according to the method the present invention,the tail mounted at one end thereof to the shank so as to trail the tailfrom the shank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the DubbingAssembly Machine.

[0049]FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the first end of theDubbing Assembly Machine illustrating the work platform in use, having awire filament tensioned thereover and having dubbing material in place.

[0050]FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the first end of theDubbing Assembly Machine illustrating the work platform folded down innon-operational mode

[0051]FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the second end of theDubbing Assembly Machine illustrating the components contained withinthe housing.

[0052]FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical diagram.

[0053]FIG. 6 is an electrical schematic according to an alternativeembodiment of the present invention.

[0054]FIG. 7 is, in perspective partially cut-away view, a userspreading dubbing material fibers between a double strand filament on awork platform,

[0055]FIG. 7a is, in perspective view, the double strand filament andwork platform of FIG. 7.

[0056]FIG. 8 is, in perspective view, a fly according to the presentinvention.

[0057]FIG. 9 is a sectional view along line 9-9 in FIG. 8.

[0058]FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial view taken from FIG. 9.

[0059]FIG. 10a is an enlarged partial view taken from FIG. 10.

[0060]FIG. 11 is an enlarged partial view taken from FIG. 10.

[0061]FIG. 12 is a fly in an alternative embodiment constructedaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0062] As seen in FIGS. 1-4, a rectangular planar base 10 supports avertically oriented dowel 12 mounted to one end of the base and ahousing 14 mounted to the opposite end, otherwise referred to as themotor end of the base. Off-set hinges 16 may be mounted to one side ofthe base. A rigid planar work platform 18 is mounted to the upper endsof binges 16, so as to be pivotable into a position parallel to andabove base 10. The base, dowel and housing may be constructed fromlightweight and durable material such as hardwood or moulded acrylic orplastic materials.

[0063] Housing 14 has mounted therein an electrically powered motor 20,for example a battery powered motor, although this is not intended to belimiting. Motor 20 drives driveshaft 22. Driveshaft 22 extends fromhousing 14 parallel to base 10 and terminates in a hook 23, eye or thelike. Driveshaft 22 is parallel to work platform 18 when platform isrotated into its horizontal operating position over base 10. In thebattery powered embodiment, battery 24 is compartmentalised withinhousing 14. As may be seen by reference to FIG. 4 the interior ofcompartmentalised housing 14 is conveniently accessible by way of aremovable sliding door 32 for access to the battery.

[0064] Motor speed is governed by a means for selectively adjusting therotational speed of the motor mounted within housing 14. This may, asseen in FIG. 5, be in one embodiment be a rheostat 26 in combinationwith resistor 28 on a low speed selected by a three way switch 30. Threeway switch 30 is mounted on one face of the housing so that in additionto isolating the motor from the power source, a high motor speed notcontrolled by the rheostat may be selected. A battery 24 having 6, 9 or12 volts may bc employed. An electrical schematic of a further preferredembodiment employing a pulse linear wire wound potentiometer control isillustrated in FIG. 6. Advantageously, a 250 ohm pulse linearpotentiometer is employed. In this embodiment slow speed torque isimproved, and manual control (by finger pressure or the like) oftwisting rate of the driveshaft may not be required. Further, external3-way switch 30 is not required. Instead a potentiometer control knob(not shown) may be provided to selectively control rotation speedregulated by the potentiometer.

[0065] A tension spring 34 is mounted adjacent the upper end of dowel 12by means of a second hook, for example eye hook 36. The free end of thetension spring is secured to a first end of barrel swivel 38. Ring oreye 40 is mounted to a second, opposite, end of barrel swivel 38.

[0066] Filament 42, advantageously a wire filament, is tensioned betweenopposed facing hooks 23 and 36 by securing a first end of filament 42 tohook 23 and by securing an opposite second end of filament 42 to ring40. When filament 42 is pulled taut, driveshaft 22, hook 23, filament42, ring 40, barrel swivel 38, tension spring 34 and hook 36 all liealong common axis of rotation B-B.

[0067] A single strand of filament 42 may be employed between hook 23and ring 40 by tying the opposite ends of the filament to hook 23 andring 40 respectively. Alternatively, a double strand filament 42 may beemployed by forming a loop. For example, a first end of filament 42 issecured to hook 23. The opposite second end of the strand is loopedthrough ring 40 and brought back to hook 23, and secured thereto. Thestrand is thus doubled back on itself to form a double strand filament42.

[0068] Operation of motor 20 rotates driveshaft 22 and hook 23 aboutaxis B-B. Ring 40 on barrel swivel 38 is free to also rotate about axisB-B, unless its rotation is impeded by, for example, friction in theswivel or manual intervention. With filament 42 tensioned between hook23 and ring 40, rotation of hook 23 about axis B-B also rotates filament42 and ring 40 about axis B-B.

[0069] It has been found advantageous that barrel swivel exhibitsufficient friction so that the rate of rotation of ring 40 about axisB-B is less than, for example ½, the rotation rate of driveshaft 22. Ifrotation of ring 40 about axis B-B is impeded, for example slowed orstopped altogether, then continuing rotation of driveshaft 22 and hook23 causes filament 42 to twist about axis B-B, gradually increasingtension applied to spring 34 as the twisting of filament 42 causes thelength of filament 42 to shorten. Eventually, excessive continuedtwisting of filament 42 against the return biasing force of tensionspring 34 causes the filament material to fail.

[0070] If filament 42 is a double strand filament, twisting of thedouble strand filament about axis B-B forms a double strand helix, orotherwise causes one of the strands to wrap around the other strand.Hereinafter the result of such twisting is collectively referred to as ahelix. If the filament is wire or other flexible permanently deformablematerial, the helix will be permanently formed. There is some latitudein the core material. Ordinary fly-tying wire makes an excellent core.

[0071] The rotation or twisting of filament 42 about axis B-B may beemployed to construct, where filament 42 is single strand, adirect-dubbed single wire wrapped filament, or, where filament 42 isdouble strand, a dubbing brush or double-strand dubbing loop.

[0072] The term “dubbing” conventionally refers both to a material 46which is affixed to filament 42 and to a set of techniques used to applythe material to a shank of a fly hook. The dubbing material itself maybe composed of natural furs, synthetic fibers or filaments, clippedfeather barbs, or any combination of these, while the conventionaldubbing process most often involves wrapping or twisting such materialsaround an elongate flexible core, that is, around filament 42. Theresultant dubbed core is subsequently wrapped around the shank of thefly hook, or in the present invention also allowed to trail from the flyhook.

[0073] So-called direct dubbed single wire wrapping, is a process ofwrapping any elongated dubbing materials 46 such as peacock herl,ostrich herl, hackle feathers, threads, super floss™ colored tinsels,yarns or common knitting wool around a central wire core such asfilament 42. The wire core is coated, for example by means of brush 44,with an adhesive bonding agent such as Cellire™. The dubbing material tobe wrapped is attached to the apparatus, starting for example near themotor end of the wire core adjacent took 23 as seen in FIG. 2. In oneembodiment, the motor is engaged to spin the wire in direction C aboutaxis B-B as the dubbing material is applied in direction A to theadhesive coated wire cote. Inherently structurally weak dubbingmaterials, such as peacock herl, consequently are given a new tightlybonded inner wire core, held securely by the adhesive. The wire core maythen be removed from between hook 23 and ring 40, and the resultingdubbed filament wrapped or wound on to the shank of a fly hook. The flyas a consequence is referred to as a having a wire core, i.e. the wirefilament 42 which is wrapped around the shank, with the dubbing materialgiving a “buggy” or hairy full-bodied appearance. What would otherwisebe a fragile fly in terms of how securely the dubbing material isaffixed to the shank, now has increased structural integrity. Inapplicant's observation, once secured according to the presentdisclosure, the peacock herl or other dubbing material can only beremoved by being sanded or scrapped off the wire core. The wire core hasto be severed to remove the dubbing material from the fly in normalusage. Thus the overall life span of the fly has been increased.

[0074] During the filament rotation or twisting operation, work platform18 is pivoted downwards out of its horizontal position, illustrated inFIG. 3. One end of a single wire filament 42, the diameter of whichrelates directly to the size of fly hook to be used, is looped throughring 40 on barrel swivel 38, and secured thereto. Its free end isattached to hook 23. Adhesive material, Cellire, is then painted overthe full length of filament 42. For winding fine material, Cellire ispainted on in a thin coat. For single wire dubbing, a heavierapplication is made, typically heavy enough to form droplets of Cellirealong the length of the filament. For double wire dubbing, as describedbelow, a heavy application of Cellire may also be made on the strands offilament 42, typically heavy enough so as to form droplets. Workplatform 18 is then used in its lowered position underneath the singlewire filament, as a guide for sliding the users hand therealong indirection A while applying dubbing material 46 to the filament.

[0075] As the motor slowly spins wire filament 42, dubbing material 46is wound around it. The tension spring compensates for the change inlength as the wire filament is twisted affording the operator some timeto adjust his dubbing. The barrel swivel 38 allows and also controls arate of twist of wire filament 42 to a rate that is less than (forexample, approximately less than or equal to) one half the motorrevolutions per minute (rpm) and corresponding rotation rate ofdriveshaft 22. Finishing of the strand of dubbing may be accomplished byfreeing the end attached to the ring 40 on the barrel swivel 38, holdingthis free end in one hand and operating the motor switch 30 with theother to apply several short bursts of high rotation to the strand.Dubbing in this fashion utilising a single fine wire filament produces arelatively fine loosely textured body when fixed to the aft of a flyhook. This is ideal for smaller sized fishing flies.

[0076] The so-called “wire core dubbing brush” is used to producestronger more durable, artistic fishing flies. The finished “wire coredubbing brush” is wrapped tightly on the shank of a fly hook and securedwith quality thread or wire. The fly is then trimmed to the desiredshape and size. The resulting flies can exhibit unique artisticappearances due to the spinning and brushing out process used to makethe wire cote dubbing brush. “Buggy” and realistic looking flies may beproduced, for example flies exhibiting hackles, legs, tails, sculpturedbodies and manes or collars. Also the strength of the finished fly isenhanced.

[0077] The method for forming dubbing brushes is a version of the“dubbing loop” or “spinning loop,” in which dubbing is positioned insidea loop of tying thread. Conventionally, the thread is subsequently spun,trapping (and sometimes flaring) the fibers in a tightly twisted core.Dubbing brushes, however, differ in a couple of small, but significant,respects.

[0078] First, the loop is formed of wire and, once spun, will notunravel when tension is relaxed. Second, where spinning loops areusually formed as needed during tying, dubbing bushes can be made inadvance and stored for later use because they remain permanentlytwisted. Since the brush isn't formed during tying, it is possible touse the specialized equipment of the present invention at a remote orhome site so as to make dubbing-brush fabrication faster, easier, andmore versatile. The apparatus of the present invention allows productionof unique dubbing brushes long enough in length to dress two or moreflies, giving the procedure a kind of economy that is not possible withspinning loops. Although tie weight produced by a wire core primarily(but not exclusively) restricts dubbing brushes to subsurface patterns,they are nonetheless versatile.

[0079] Brushes can be spun from strips of hair in which the underfur andguard hairs are mounted perpendicular to the wire core to produce aspiky, cylindrical, uniform fur chenille. Chopped natural or syntheticdubbing (long- or short-fibered) produces dubbing brushes that resemblea conventional direct-dubbed thread. Even feather barbs, usually marabouor Cul-de-Canard (CDC), and synthetic yarns are suitable dubbing-brushmaterial.

[0080] Double wire dubbing, is accomplished, for example, using a loopof 0.009 inch stainless steel wire, to produce a dubbing brush. Thedubbing brush is so strong, that once wrapped on to the shank of a flyhook and properly secured, normal fishing use will not inflict damage tothe wire core dubbing brush.

[0081] In double wire dubbing, as before, a single strand of filament 42is mounted between ring 40 and the eye or hook on shaft 22. Cellire ispainted onto the first filament. Work platform 18 is then elevated tohorizontal. Material 46 is laid out evenly on top of the single strand.A second strand of filament 42 has been tied to ring 40 and allowed tohang down with its free end loose. The second strand is grasped andheavily Cellired. Its face end is then threaded through the eye or hook23 on shaft 22 so as to extend the second strand parallel and adjacentto the first strand. With the free end so threaded, the motor is engagedto wind or twist the strands together. Once the winding of both strandshas commenced, the work platform is lowered. With dubbing material 46sandwiched between the two strands of filament 42 when filament 42(collectively here referring to both strands) is slowly spun by themotor, the dubbing and strands are twisted together. This procedurepermits the creation of fuller, more uniformly hairy or bushy, morerobust body material which can be used in the production of largerflies, for example, for catching large trophy fish.

[0082] Thus, as described above, in production of double strand dubbingbrushes, filament 42 may be thought of as formed of a wire loop havingparallel adjacent strands 42 a and 42 b. The wire loop is twisted into apermanently formed double strand helix, or otherwise a wrap of onestrand around the other, by twisting of the wire loop between the hook23 and ring 40. Dubbing material 46 has been sandwiched between theadjacent taut strands 42 a and 42 b as better seen in FIGS. 7 and 7aprior to twisting and uniformly spread out along the loop so that thefibers 46 a of dubbing material 46 are generally in parallel uniformlydistributed array bisected by the wire strands 42 a and 42 b of theloop. The strands are then twisted, for example in direction C, aboutaxis B-B to form an untrimmed brush. That is, as fibers 46 a of theparallel uniformly spread out array of dubbing material 46 are twistedas the wire loop is formed into a tightly wound double strand helix,hereinafter helix core 50 better seen in FIG. 8, the individual fibers46 a rotate and flare outwardly about the longitudinal axis of the tautloop (i.e. rotate and flare about axis B-B) to forming an untrimmedthree dimensional brush body of revolution about helix core 50. Helixcore 50 resulting of the twisted loop forms the wire core of the dubbingbrush, securely holding the trapped dubbing material fibers 46 a alongthe axis of symmetry of the initially formed three dimensional body,keeping in mind that helix core 50 is flexible even though permanentlyformed in the helix so that once removed form between hook 23 and ring40, the axis of symmetry may become a curved line unless pulledstraight. The finished “wire core dubbing brush” has an internal wirecore (i.e. helix core 50 that may not be visible depending on how muchof fibers 46 a are removed by blushing during formation of helix core50, and by how much trimming is done to the repairing fibers 46 a.Depending on the dubbing materials, the amount of blushing or rakingapplied to remove excess fibers 46 a during formation of helix core 50,and the amount of trimming, the external appearance or finished wirecore dubbing brushes can differ greatly.

[0083] As can be appreciated any number of lengths of dubbing, each upto the length or the work platform and resembling the common insects ofthe season, can be simply and expediently manufactured and easilycarried with the angler while fishing. A new fly lure can be assembledquickly and simply during the fishing operation by selecting a hook,coating the hook shank with Cellire, cutting off a small length of wirefilament reinforced dubbing and tying onto the hook with thread. Lastly,dubbing is wrapped around the shank of the hook and tied off withthread. A full fishing fly can be pre-made on a single wire.

[0084] Small quantities of the raw material known in the art forartificial fly production may be carried along with the angler andutilising this invention may quickly produce dubbing matching the uniquebatch at the fishing location.

[0085] Using the filament twisting machine of the present invention,unique dubbing brushes and, consequently, unique flies may bemanufactured which can not be obtained using conventional dubbingprocesses. The filament twisting machine of the present invention allowsfor a consistent torque to be applied to the filament so as to twist itat a uniform rate which may be controlled by the user. A user's handsare left free, for example in double strand dubbing, to both control therotational speed and torque being constantly applied to the driveshaftaid wire filament, and to brush or rake the dubbing material fibres asthe double strand filament is slowly twisted into its permanently formedhelix. Motorized constant torque twisting of the filament gives the usertime and the free hands to vigorously brush (using a brush) or rake(using a rake) out fibres 46 a as they slowly twirl and flare about axisB-B. The result is a conformly hairy or bushy full bodied threedimensional body of revolution symmetric about axis B-B having generallyconstant “hairiness”, thickness, density and shape along the length offilament 42, assuming it is desired to fully brush out the dubbingmaterial fibres along the entire length of the filament as the doublestrands are being twisted. The uniformity and “hairiness” (such asillustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9) is not obtainable using conventionalmethods. The resulting dubbing brush may be initially trimmed, andwhether or not initially trimmed, either wound onto shank 52 of the flyhook or mounted to shank 52 only at one end of the dubbing brush so asto form a tail 64 trailing behind the fly hook as better seen in FIGS.9, 10, and 10 a.

[0086] As better seen in FIG. 10, end 52 a of shank 52, being theopposite end of barbed end 54, has helix core 50 tightly wound aroundit. Prior to being so wound, helix core 50 has been produced as adubbing brush so that, prior to secondary trimming, as the dubbing brushis wound onto end 52 a of shank 52, fibres 46 a of dubbing material 46form a thick hairy or bushy three dimensional body about shank end 52 a.As the dubbing brush is wrapped around the solid shank, the fibres ofthe dubbing brush, namely fibres 46 a, are forced away from shank end 52a thus producing a very dense fibre volume 56 as better seen in FIG. 11.Volume 56 may be secondarily trimmed to leave only a very dense,somewhat bristly, sculptured body having a sculptured body surface 58,for example, symmetric about shank 52 a.

[0087] As seen in FIG. 10, secondary trimming of volume 56 may notnecessarily extend along the entire length of shank end 52 a so that,for example, only part of the shaft will have a sculptured surface 58,and the remaining wrapped portion of the shank will have a very wild ofbuggy appearance especially, as seen in FIG. 8, where fibres 46 a havebeen teased outwardly to form a mantle or mane 60 extending generallyradially outwardly of shank 52 behind sculptured surface 58.

[0088] As better understood by reviewing FIG. 8, plastic eyes and 12 orthe like may be glued by suitable adhesive to sculptured surface 58 togive a truly lire-like appearance. Advantageously, enough adhesive isforced into volume 56 so as to bind eyes 62 to shank 52.

[0089] Tail 64 is made using another length of dubbing brush. This mayor may not necessarily similar to the appearance of the dubbing brushwound onto shank 52. Door example, the dubbing brush used for tail 64may have been manufactured using the filament twisting machine describedabove to incorporate differently coloured or synthetic reflective fibresor it may be made of similar dubbing material 46 as that employed tocreate the dubbing brush wound onto shank 52. The choice of the dubbingmaterial to be employed in the dubbing, brush to be used for tail 64 isa matter of choice of the user in order to simulate various specificinsects or the like. The fact that the dubbing brush used to create tail64 may be an entirely different dubbing brush to that wrapped aroundshank 52 is indicated in the drawings by reference numerals 46 a′ toindicate the dubbing material fibres, and 50′ to indicate the wire coreof the dubbing brush forming tail 64. One end of helix core 50′ ismounted to shaft 54 and the opposite end is allowed to trail behind thefly hook. Because helix core 50′ is flexible, as the fly is pulledthrough the water, any uneven tension applied to the fishing line willcause fibres 46 a′ to undulate or pulse relative to helix core 50′giving the fly the appearance of swimming. Tail 64 is also free tosinusoidally or otherwise undulate behind the fly hook as the fly hookis pulled through the water.

[0090] Further decorative enhancements such as hackles or feathers 66may also be mounted to shank 52 to further enhance a realistic buggyappearance or the fly.

[0091] It has been found that by employing the filament twisting machineabove described, llama wool fibres may be readily used as dubbingmaterial 46, successfully for the first as disclosed herein, time tomaterially enhance dubbing brushes used to create artistic flies.Previously, llama hair was introduced for use as a dubbing material butit did not work well in prior art dubbing methods which did not applyconstant and consistent torque in a hands-free manner to the filamentbeing twisted. Llama hair is a very light fibrous material which may bedyed into many attractive colours. Llama hairs separate nicely intouniformly spaced parallel array such as that illustrated in FIG. 7 andthus are well adapted for double wire dubbing. Once wound by thefilament twisting machine of the present invention, they display notonly strength but also may be readily brushed out to form a dubbingbrush the fibres of which, when employed in a fly, may be teased out tocreate a remarkable mane or collar 60 and in one embodiment tail 64 ofthe sort illustrated by way of example in FIGS. 9, 10, and 10 a. Anartistic mane 60 and tail 64 requires in one embodiment of the presentinvention, that long llama hairs or other fibres be employed, which maybe then later trimmed if so desired to form sculpted surface 53.

[0092] Llama hairs, for example those made commercially available by theCanadian Llama Company, have, solely because of the use of the filamenttwisting machine of the present invention, proven to make excellentdubbing material. The llama lair, as stated above, especially in lengthbetween {fraction (1/32)} of an inch and 1 inch, are uniformly straight,although very flexible and light, and do not ball or lump. Consequently,when employed in the manufacture of a dubbing brush, a uniformly veryfull yet low density brush results, one which has a minimum of wrappedfibres wrapped around helix core 50 as opposed to extending flaredradially outwardly of the core so as to provide the bushy appearance. Inprior art manual methods, the result generally was a thickly wrapped matof fibres around the double strand core rather than the fibres beingbrushed or raked so as to stand or flare radially outwardly of the wilecore so as to produce a uniformly thick bushy brush.

[0093] Llama hairs in the length as aforesaid, may be easily blended ina blender such as a coffee grinder-style blender, so as to changeprimary colour rovings to any desired colour and so as to include, forexample, synthetic reflective strands. Thus the resultant dubbing brush,when wrapped around a shank of a fly hook, results in multi-colouredmarbling of the sculptured body of the fly following secondary trimming.

[0094] The filament twisting machine of the present invention allows forimproved handling of other typically difficult to use dubbing materialssuch as deer hair. Deer hair is usually very difficult to tie and stackonto the shaft of a fly hook. By “stacked” what is meant that the more adubbing material is “stacked”, the thicker and fuller the resultingdubbing brush and body of the fly will be. In the prior art, typicallydeer hair dubbing material was held onto the shaft by thread only. Nowusing the filament twisting machine of the present invention, (leer hairmay be anchored into a dubbing brush so as to provide a very strongattachment of the deer hair to the fly once the dubbing brush is woundonto the shank of the fly hook. In the prior art, if the thread broke,the fly body came apart and the deer hair fell off. It typically was notattempted to attach deer hair as a dubbing material when manually makinga dubbing brush because of the difficulty of handling the deer hair.

[0095] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light ofthe foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications arepossible in the practice of this invention without departing from thespirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is tobe construed in accordance with the substance defined by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dubbing brush made by a method including thesteps of: (a) providing a base having first and second opposite ends;(b) providing a motor mounted on said first end of said base and adriveshaft coupled to said motor, said motor being intended for rotatingsaid driveshaft at a selectable constant rotation speed about an axis ofrotation; (c) providing a rigid support mounted at said second end ofsaid base, a resilient biasing means mounted to said rigid support, anda coupling mounted to said resilient biasing means in opposite relationto said rigid support and in opposed facing relation to said driveshaft;(d) providing said driveshaft and said coupling on said axis ofrotation; (e) securing respective ends of a double strand filament tosaid driveshaft and said coupling so as to tension said filamenttherebetween and so as to maintain strands of said double strandfilament snugly adjacent and parallel, wherein said strands are of apermanently deformable material which remains flexible when twisted; (f)spreading an array of hair-like dubbing material fibres generally evenlyalong, so as to be generally perpendicular to and sandwiched betweensaid strands; (g) actuating said motor so as to twist said filamentabout said axis of rotation, thereby permanently twisting said strandsaround one another, whereby said dubbing material fibres are anchoredbetween said strands and rotated about said axis of rotation to form ahairy three dimensional body of revolution about said axis of rotation;(h) brushing-out said fibres as they twirl and flare as said filament istwisted; and (i) removing said filament from said driveshaft and saidcoupling so as to allow said hairy three dimensional body of revolutionto flex and bend along its length for use in fly tying.
 2. A method ofmaking a dubbing brush, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a basehaving first and second opposite ends; (b) providing a motor mounted onsaid first end of said base and a driveshaft coupled to said motor, saidmotor being intended for rotating said driveshaft at a selectableconstant rotation speed about an axis of rotation; (c) providing a rigidsupport mounted at said second end of said base, a resilient biasingmeans mounted to said rigid support, and a coupling mounted to saidresilient biasing means in opposite relation to said rigid support andin opposed facing relation to said driveshaft; (d) providing saiddriveshaft and said coupling on said axis of rotation; (e) securingrespective ends of a double strand filament to said driveshaft and saidcoupling so as to tension said filament therebetween and so as tomaintain strands of said double strand filament snugly adjacent andparallel, wherein said strands are of a permanently deformable materialwhich remains flexible when twisted; (f) spreading an array of hair-likedubbing material fibres generally evenly along, so as to be generallyperpendicular to, and sandwiched between said strands; (g) actuatingsaid motor so as to twist said filament about said axis of rotation,thereby permanently twisting said strands around one another, wherebysaid dubbing material fibres are anchored between said strands androtated about said axis of rotation to form a hairy three dimensionalbody of revolution about said axis of rotation; (h) raking said fibresas they twirl and flare as said filament is twisted; and (i) removingsaid filament from said driveshaft and said coupling so as to allow saidhairy three dimensional body of revolution to flex and bend along itslength for use in fly tying.
 3. A double strand dubbing brush,comprising: (a) a helix core of two permanently twisted flexibleelongate members; and (b) an array of fibres, spread along andsandwiched between said two permanently twisted flexible elongatemembers, said array being generally bisected by said helix core and saidarray being flared so as to extend radially and uniformly densely aboutsaid helix core and uniformly distributed along said helix core.
 4. Thedubbing brush of claim 3 wherein said flexible elongate members arewire.
 5. The dubbing brush of claim 3 wherein a majority of said fibresin said array are of uniform thickness and length, and wherein saidfibres have been stacked and brushed out during twisting formation ofsaid helix core.
 6. The dubbing brush of claim 3 wherein a majority ofsaid fibres in said array are of uniform thickness and length, andwherein said fibres have been stacked and raked out during twistingformation of said helix core.
 7. A fly hook made by a method includingthe steps of: winding a dubbing brush according to either claim 1 orclaim 2 around a shank of a hook to form a body, trimming a firstportion of said body, and brushing out said body over a remainingportion of said body.
 8. The fly hook of claim 7 further comprising atail mounted to said shank of said hook, wherein said tail is a secondsaid dubbing brush having one end thereof mounted to said shank so as totrail said tail from said shank.
 9. A fly hook made by a methodincluding the steps of: winding a dubbing brush according to eitherclaim 1 or claim 2 around a shank of a hook to form a body, trimming afirst portion of said body, and raking out said body over a remainingportion of said body.
 10. The fly hook of claim 9 further comprising atail mounted to said shank of said hook, wherein said tail is a secondsaid dubbing brush having one end thereof mounted to said shank so as totrail said tail from said shank.